US open: Markets largely unchanged as dollar reaches seven-year high against yen

US stocks were largely unchanged on Tuesday, as investors assessed corporate earnings after benchmarks closed at a fourth straight record.

Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 10.05 points down at 17,603.95, while the S&P 500 dropped 2.08 points to 2,036.18 and the Nasdaq was 0.15 points down at 4,175.80.

The S&P 500 and Dow finished at all-time record highs of 2,038 and 17,614 respectively on Monday on a thinly-traded session, with the CBOE Volatility Index dropping to its lowest in seven weeks.

"US stocks may experience another day of slow drift on Tuesday as investors wait for more fundamental catalysts later in the week at home and abroad as the US dollar looks to continue recouping its payrolls losses as commodities fall back," said market analyst Jasper Lawler from CMC Markets.

In corporate news, Alibaba Group fell despite generating over $2bn in sales within the first hour of 11 November, dubbed 'Singles Day' in China.

The day, seen as China's answer to Black Friday in the States and a sort of anti-Valentine's Day, was created by Alibaba in 2009 and is now thought to be the world's most lucrative shopping day for online retailers. Alibaba is expected to make sales worth $8.2bn during the whole day, compared with $5.75bn in 2013 and $3.04bn in 2012.

Casino operator Caesars Entertainment slumped after the company said its loss widened to $908.1m in the third quarter due to unfavourable gambling results and higher bad-debt expenses.

Zynga rose sharply after analysts at Jefferies Group upgraded the firm’s rating on the shares, while D.R. Horton Inc. slid almost 2% after reporting fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates, while Rackspace Hosting advanced after third-quarter profit of 18 cents a share beat Wall Street's estimates.

The dollar was in retreat against the pound but advanced against the pound and the yen, registering a seven-year high against the Japanese currency, while gold futures slid to $1,156.00.

Oil prices continued to tumble, with West Texas intermediate and Brent crude trading at just under $77.5 and just under $82 a barrel, respectively.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose